We are taking a gentle meander through the agenda for Federal Conference which takes place in Bournemouth from 20-23 September. We’ll give you the highlights of policy motions, reports and papers. Under the spotlight here is a motion proposed by Munira Wilson MP, to be summed up by Josh Babarinde MP on the importance of engaging, high quality youth work. This is open for amendment until 8 September at 1pm. You can read all the motions in the agenda here.
The motion sets out the impact of the cuts in youth work in recent years and explains the value of youth work in helping young people to live the lives they want to live.
Youth work can be a key tool in helping every young person to achieve their potential.
High–quality youth work can act as a preventative service, helping young people to avoid negative outcomes like involvement in crime or anti–social behaviour, or being Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
Youth work provision can lead to improved mental and physical health, strengthened life skills, and a heightened sense of belonging for young people that supports social cohesion.
The motion also emphasises the importance of including young people in building these programs.
Conference reaffirms Liberal Democrat calls for:
A. A Cabinet Minister for Children and Young People.
B. Investment in youth services that are genuinely engaging and reach more young people.Conference therefore calls on the Government to:
1. Commit to a fair, long-term funding settlement to support youth work, resources and infrastructure.
2. Ensure the National Youth Strategy prioritises high-quality targeted and open-access work, with clear metrics for delivery.
3. Support charity-run youth services to leverage non-governmental funding, building on the model of Regional Youth Work Units to share best practice, build partnerships.
4. Clarify the statutory duty for local authorities to provide sufficient youth services, defining what ‘sufficient’ means, and ensure adequate funding for these requirements.
5. Develop a comprehensive Workforce and Training Strategy for the Youth Sector, to ensure a sustainable pipeline of skilled practitioners.
6. Ensure youth voices shape all policy development by introducing a statutory duty for Local Authority Youth Councils and maintaining a ‘feedback loop’ to keep young people informed.
7. Strengthen partnerships between youth services and schools, employers, mental health professionals, youth justice and outdoor education providers through statutory guidance.
8. Support schools and youth organisations to deliver outdoor education, aiming for every young person to have at least one such experience in primary and one in secondary school.
Is this a good motion? Is anything missing? What do you think?
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One Comment
Good motion. I realise the motion just applies to England so no harm in making this clear in the motion (such as using ‘National Youth Strategy for England’ in point 2). My main comment however is that funding will have to be ring-fenced to ensure local councils do not use it to finance social care or other demands on their budgets.